INNOCENT American journalist Evan Gershkovich is set to finally be released as part of a Cold War-style prisoner swap deal with Russia.
Evan faced an outrageous 16 years in jail after a sham trial where he was wrongly accused by Vladimir Putin‘s crooked regime of collecting “secret information” for the CIA.
Evan Gershkovich hears his sentence of 16 years in Russian court on July 19
BBCA Russian plane landed in Ankara today to help with the swap[/caption]
AFPEvan was arrested in Russia on bogus espionage charges in March 2023[/caption]
Outside the entrance to Lefortovo prison where Evan has been held – known for housing political dissidents
But he is now due to be freed after 490 days inside the horrific Russian penal system – the same network of politically charged jails that killed Alexei Navalny.
Pictures showed a mysterious Russian FSB plane in the Putin-controlled enclave of Kaliningrad – which is bordered by Nato nations.
The same aircraft had been used in other prisoner deals, such as the exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout and WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Evan is thought to be among up to 30 other political prisoners – including former US marine Paul Whelan.
Whelan, 54, was first held in December 2018 by Russia on spy charges Washington say are false.
Today’s swap would be the largest since a famous 2010 exchange deal, and perhaps even bigger.
This brought GRU double agent Sergei Skripal to Britain, and notorious SVR glamour spy Anna Chapman – who held a UK passport – back to Russia after she was expelled from the US.
The Wall Street Journal reporter, 32, lost a sham closed-door trial last month over bogus espionage charges.
Evan could be one of 20 or 30 political prisoners exchanged between Russia, the US and Germany, the Moscow Times reported.
He was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in March 2023 while covering a story about mercenary group Wagner – who would try to overthrow Putin later that year.
For months no evidence was offered by prosecutors of Evan’s so-called “crimes”.
Then in June, the Kremlin accused him of “collecting secret information” about Uralvagonzavod, a military facility in the Sverdlovsk region.
Evan’s family, his editors and the White House have always slammed the baseless Russian charges.
Prosecutors requested a horrific 18-year sentence for Evan, the first journalist in Russia to be charged with spying since the Soviet era.
Pictures from inside a Russian court room in Yekaterinburg on July 19 showed him defiantly smiling from inside a glass cage as the judge delivered his 16-year sentence.
The Wall Street Journal said after the sentencing: “This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raged: “The sentencing of
WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich is despicable and only serves to underscore Russia’s utter contempt for media freedom.
“Journalism should not be a crime.
“Gershkovich must be released immediately.”
Asked after the sentencing about a possible prisoner swap involving Evan, which despot Putin has spoken about before, Kremlin crony Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the United Nations that same week that intelligence in Moscow and Washington were discussing a possible exchange.
Espionage cases often take months to handle and the unusual speed of Evan’s trial stoked speculation that a prisoner swap may have been on the table.
Putin has previously said that Evan would have to be sentenced before any possible exchange – which could take months or years.
The WSJ has accused Russia of “stockpiling Americans” to trade them for Russians jailed abroad.
The Wall Street Journal’s chief editor Emma Tucker and top executives said after his sentence in July: “Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge.
“Russia’s latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous.”
The court where Evan bravely faced his trial in Yekaterinburg, south west Russia
Paul Whelan, 54, is set to be released alongside Evan
A Russian Antonov An-148 aircraft previously used in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout and WNBA star Brittney Griner was spotted in Kaliningrad on August 1, 2024
Timeline of Evan Gershkovich’s detainment
FALSELY jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained on baseless accusations of espionage in March 2023.
Here is a timeline of key events:
Russia’s security service, the FSB, charged him with espionage – a charge that he, the WSJ and the US government deny.
They argued – without evidence – that he collected “information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Day 12: April 10, 2023 – The US designated Gershkovich wrongfully detained and launched effort on Russia to free him.
Day 20: April 18, 2023 – A Moscow court upheld his pre-trial detention, denied him bail and ordered him to be held in the capital’s infamous Lefortovo prison.
Day 55: May 23, 2023 – Gershkovich’s detention was extended until at least August 30.
His parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, travelled to the hearing and said “any parents who loves their kid would travel to the end of the world to be with them for give minutes.”
Day 76: June 13, 2023 – The White House called on Russia to immediately free Gershkovich and also free former US marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020.
Day 85: June 22, 2023 – A Moscow court upheld the extension of Gershkovich’s detention until at least August 30.
Day 100: July 7, 2023 – The world’s press stood for solidarity with the reporter as his shameful detention reached 100 days.
Day 174: September, 19, 2023 – Gershkovich had another appeal for freedom blocked.
Day 195: October 10, 2023 – The US reporter had yet another appeal denied which would see his detention extended until at least November 30.
Day 244: November 28, 2023 – A court ruled Gershkovich would remain in pre-trial detention until at least January 30.
Day 303: January 26, 2024 – The innocent journalist’s time behind bars was extended until the end of March.
Day 316: February 8, 2024 – Vladimir Putin tells US TV host Tucker Carlson a deal could be reached between Russia and the US over Gershkovich.
Day 363: March 26, 2024: Gershkovich’s detention will drag on until June 30 as he nears one year behind bars.
Day 442: June 13, 2024: Russian authorities announce he will stand trial over bogus accusations that the reporter was spying for the CIA
Day 455: June 26, 2024: Closed-door sham trial begins in Yekaterinburg at the Sverdlovsk courthouse with Evan appearing inside a glass cage